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US official confident no cuts for fighter jets

Dan Oakes

"That's going to affect the entire US budget, if it happens, and I think because of that we won't get to that point" ... Michele Flournoy. Photo: Bloomberg

THE troubled Joint Strike Fighter project is unlikely to be hit by any more massive cost or schedule overruns, according to a senior US defence official visiting Australia.

However, the comments by the Under Secretary of Defence for Policy, Michele Flournoy, came as the project was subjected to fierce criticism in the US.

Ms Flournoy played down fears the US Defence Department could have to find up to $1 trillion in cuts to projects such as the JSF if a special congressional committee set up to find further cuts could not reach an agreement.

''That's going to affect the entire US budget, if it happens, and I think because of that we won't get to that point,'' Ms Flournoy told the Herald.

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''That's the jumping-off-the-cliff point for the US Congress and I don't think that will happen. I'm an optimist by nature, I'm hopeful we won't get to that point, and we have 13 months to make sure it doesn't.''

However, her comments coincided with US reports suggesting defence officials had recommended ''serious reconsideration'' of the rate at which the US Air Force should buy the planes.

Bloomberg reported an internal study by Defence Department experts had found design flaws requiring a ''significant rework'' of the project.

Australia has set aside up to $16 billion to buy 100 of the planes, but the Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, has already warned that any cuts to the program could force Australia to reconsider its orders for the fighter beyond the first 14, which are to be delivered by 2014 at a cost of $3.2 billion.

Ms Flournoy also expressed cautious support for the Labor Party's decision to embrace the export of uranium to India, drawing parallels with the US co-operation with India on civilian nuclear programs.

''They are a fellow democracy, we share a lot of interests and values, and we have made real investments in the relationship, including opening up some of our own nuclear trade, given that their non-proliferation record is actually quite solid,'' she said.